Approaching Infinity
by The Crafty Sage
Summary: After saving Earth, the Avengers want nothing more than to heal and to rest. But when the Infinity Gauntlet, an artifact of untold power goes missing, they have no choice but to suit up once more. And this time, not only their world is in jeopardy, but the entire universe. Movie canon will be followed.


**Author's Notes**: This starts immediately after the fight, in the restaurant. I own nothing. It's all Marvel's, etc!

**Prologue**

_They were known as the Elders of the Universe..._

_For millennium, they had plotted and pondered, planning a way to become the dominate force of all the universe. To achieve this, they cut the Infinity Gems and forged the Infinity Gauntlet..._

_The gems looked simple, but could control time, space, souls, minds, reality and power. A single gem was dominate enough, but when all six were adorned on the gauntlet, no force in the universe could stop the wielder..._

_Over the course of time, the Elders were challenged, and one by one, the Infinity Gems were lost, and the Infinity Gauntlet stolen..._

_They became the foundation of legend, and more than one would be conqueror attempted to reunite the set, always failing..._

_That is, until now..._

* * *

"So what exactly is the deal between you two?"

Natasha Romanoff, also known as The Black Widow, ignored the pointed question being asked to her. Instead, she stared into the large styrofoam cup that held her drink. Normally, she was one to avoid soda like the plague, or anything that had high fructose corn syrup for that matter. But today, after this fight, she was worried she might go into shock, so a super sized cola didn't sound like a bad idea.

Beside her, she could feel Clint's leg tense and heard the sharp influx of breath that told her that he didn't particularly like the question that Tony Stark just asked.

"I'm just elevating my foot, Stark. I might have torn something," Clint said, sounding casual to everyone but Natasha.

"Suuuurrrreeee, Sailor Mars," Stark said. He gestured to the worker behind the counter for another plate of meat.

Deciding to ignore the question completely, Natasha gently stirred the straw in her cup and watched the waves she created in her mini ocean. Around her, the world was in chaos. Nothing would ever be the same again. Nothing. But this cup, with this cup she had complete control. She could put the cup down on the table and never touch it again. Or she could lift the straw to her lips and drink and soon it would seem like there was never any liquid there at all.

"You can't blame me for being curious," Stark continued. "I mean, it's pretty clear you're marking your territory there, Barnes. You couldn't be more obvious if you had peed on her."

That caused Natasha to look up. Sharply. "Don't," she warned him as Clint grabbed her drink and took a gulp, taking any decision about her tiny world out of her hands.

Clint and Natasha had been through so much together that she wasn't sure what to call him anymore. He was more than a friend, that much she realized from her conversation with Loki. At some point, she would have to stumble through her feelings for the archer, but for now, he was just her partner, which was what she needed him to be right now.

Stark lifted his hands quickly, miming surrender. "Apologies, m'lady," he said with a grin. "I was simply curious about your relationship status. Speaking of, why haven't you accepted my friend request on Facebook? I sent it almost 48 hours ago. I'm beginning to think you don't like me."

Natasha laughed at that, knowing that the only Facebook profile with her picture on it was under the name 'Natalie Rushman,' the name she used when she was undercover at Stark Industries. Grabbing her soda back from Clint, Natasha took a long sip and stopped when the slurping started. She rested her chin on her hand. "Why do you even care?" she asked, turning the question back on him. "I thought you were taken."

"Oh I am. I am very much taken," Stark said quickly. He put his hand on Steve Rodger's shoulder and stared at him. "I'm simply asking for a friend."

Rodgers pushed Stark's hand away and rolled his eyes. "I don't need anyone to play Cupid for me, Stark."

"That would be the opposite of correct, Rodgers. When I broke into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records, I might have seen some of the personnel files on one or two or all of you, and you, Cap'n, have been classified as a bit of a loner since you came back."

"Kinda hard to be social when everyone I used to know is dead," Rodgers said, revealing a trace of bitterness Natasha hadn't heard from him before.

"Touché," Stark said quietly. "That being said, since it recently dawned on me that it's been probably close to seventy years since you've been on a date and maybe longer, if those 'before' pictures were accurate."

"My love life or lack of isn't high on my priority list-"

Stark interrupted Rodgers with a look of curiosity on his face. "Wait. Men had different values back then. You're a ninety year old virgin, aren't you?"

"I'm not talking about this!"

Natasha went back to staring into her cup, not particularly wanting to know the answer to that question. Before she could destroy more of her tiny kingdom, Clint nudged her foot from under the table. She looked over at her friend. "Does he ever shut up?" he asked quietly.

Remembering what she had learned when she had studied his profile when she was his assistant, she told Clint, "It's a coping mechanism. Makes him feel like he's in control."

Barely above a whisper, Clint said, "Gotcha. So are you coping?"

Just as soft, Natasha responded, "Not in control, that's for sure. Ask me again tomorrow."

"Secrets, secrets are no fun, secrets, secrets hurt someone," Stark said in a sing song voice. Then after a beat, added, "My God that's an ironic phrase after everything we've been through."

No one had any response to that, and Stark seemed to realize that he had more food on his plate. Several blissfully silent minutes passed. But then, "So is there a Lady Thor out there somewhere?"

"I am not married," Thor said seriously. He took a large bite of his pocket bread sandwich. "And I do not like this food."

"Yet you keep eating," Bruce Banner said with a chuckle, taking a bite of his own food.

"Yet I keep eating," Thor agreed. "It would have to be food far worse than this to get me to stop."

"So what's your deal?" Stark asked Thor. "Are you like a sailor? Lady waiting for you at every port, or in this case, planet?"

Thor silenced Stark with a single look. "You will not insult my love."

"So you have a love? Please tell me her name is Sif."

"Her name is Jane Foster," Thor said, a ghost of a smile haunting his lips. "Perhaps now that your world is safe, I could see her again, before I go back to Asgard. I would like that very much."

"Are you going to stay for a while?" Banner asked.

Thor looked thoughtful. "I would like too. However, the sooner I remove Loki and the Tesseract off of your planet, the safer it will be for you all."

"There'll probably be a memorial for Coulson," Natasha said quickly. "You should stay for that. If you can."

The air around the table suddenly seemed much heavier with Coulson's name being mentioned. Natasha could have kicked herself. After everything that happened, they needed not to think, to just recover. And now she made them all think about their departed friend.

"What sort of memorial will there be?" Thor asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Clint cleared his throat. "Phil and I talked once, about what we wanted..."

"Morbid much?" Stark asked.

"In this line of work, yeah," Clint said defensively. "Hope for the best, plan for the worst. Makes life easier."

"Or in this case, death," Stark said.

"So what did he want?" Rodgers asked quietly.

"Not a lot from what I remember. Donate anything and everything that could be donated. Burn the rest," Clint said. Then he let out a strained laugh. "He specifically said he wanted his ashes scattered. That he couldn't imagine spending the rest of time in an urn on someone's mantle."

That got a smile out of Natasha. "Sounds like Phil."

"I'm sure his wishes will be respected," Thor said. "Yet, it doesn't seem grandiose rnough for him."

"Alright, Point Break," Stark said, taking a bite from his sandwich. "If he had died on Asgard, how would you honor him?"

Thor straightened up. "He would get a warrior's send-off. His body would be placed on a pyre on a barge. The moment it was sent out to sea, a fire would be lit, consuming his body. His soul would be released with the flames. And all who saw the smoke would know that a warrior was heading to the afterlife. Then those who love him best would drink heartily and toast his life."

"Oh there will be drinking, believe me," Stark said. "Not all that different, when you think about it."

Rodgers picked up his cup and held it out. "To Phil Coulson."

Natasha lifted her cup as well, as did everyone else. She looked around the table, at these 'lost souls,' as Loki had described them. That might be true, but today, today they had managed to find something and save the world in the process. That was something worth holding on to.

Her cup met the others. "To Phil Coulson."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Thank you for making it this far! In case the summary doesn't do the story justice, what I'm hoping for is basically an extended version of The Avengers 2. Whedon said in an interview that the sequel will probably be smaller, and more personal. I'm keeping that in mind as I write this.

And a quick question. I'm returning to fandom (of any type) after a five year break. Where do all the cool kids hang out these days? Livejournal? Dreamwidth? Somewhere new?

Reviews are very much appreciated! Reviewers get an Avenger of their choice to eat shawarma with. I'll fight y'all for Captain America...


End file.
